


A Present for Diana

by SailorPortia



Series: A Present for... Series [1]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Akko repressed lewd thoughts about Diana, Cuddling, F/F, For Normal Friend Reasons, Hannah and Barbara are the real MVPs, Mild anime spoilers, Side Hannah/Barbara, Useless Lesbians, they have to share a bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14499336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorPortia/pseuds/SailorPortia
Summary: Hannah and Barbara decide to give Diana what she wants most for her birthday: Akko! Akko and Diana find themselves unavoidably stuck together for the next twenty-four hours. As the day goes on, Akko finds her heart racing more and more. For totally normal friend reasons, of course.





	A Present for Diana

**Author's Note:**

> I messed up the blockquote formatting and it's too early in the morning to learn how to make it look nice, so that's a thing.

Hannah and Barbara walked hand-in-hand through the Luna Nova courtyard discussing the difficult topic of what to get Diana for her birthday.

"What about a book?" Barbara suggested. "Diana likes books. Perhaps something about magical theory?"

"Babs, the last thing Diana needs is another book. Maybe a nice dress?"

"Han, Diana's positively _drowning_ in dresses. She's got a dress for every party she's ever been to. Besides, there's nowhere good to get dresses in Wedinburgh."

Hannah and Barbara had been friends with Diana for years, and every year they struggled to find a birthday gift that could impress Diana. The Cavendish heiress, true to her family’s motto, graciously accepted any gift given to her without any uncharitable thoughts toward the giver. That only made it harder for the girls. They really wanted to show Diana they cared for her, but what did you get the girl who had everything? Diana was only truly interested in practical things and magical artifacts, of which she had plenty. She ignored the artifices of wealth, unlike other nobles who were obsessed with ostentatious performances of their privilege.

The girls had grappled with the question for the two weeks leading up to Diana’s birthday. What would make Diana smile?

"What would you want to get for your birthday?" Barbara asked her girlfriend.

Hannah thought about it for a moment. "You," she said, covering her blushing face with her free hand.

"Awww, Han," Barbara cooed.

"What would you want to get for your birthday," Hannah asked.

"You already know what I'm going to say," Barbara said sheepishly.

"I know, but could you say it anyway?"

"I'd want you too," Barbara said. She and Hannah squealed, clasped their hands together, and hopped up and down.

"I love you Barbara!"

"I love you too, Hannah!"

The couple went on like that, ignoring the weird looks from bystanders, for a full minute before regaining their composure and sitting down on a park bench. Hannah and Barbara had been going out for several months, but neither of them had gotten used to the fact that they were actually, finally _dating_ (everyone else had assumed they’d been dating all along and were already tired of the lovers’ public displays of affection). After nearly a year of pining after her friend, Hannah bit the bullet and confessed her feelings, fully expecting to be rejected. Barbara had only ever had eyes for the characters of _Nightfall_ , but she found herself swooning when Hannah suddenly clutched her hands and bared her soul to her in a shaky voice, her eyes shying away. Her literary heroes forgotten, Barbara threw her arms around her best-friend-become-girlfriend and the two been inseparable after that.

Well, inseparable-er.

Hannah couldn’t even think about her girlfriend without a smile breaking out. Being with Barbara was a gift and nothing else could make her feel this euphoric. She only wished she could give Diana something that made her feel the same.

“That’s it!” Hannah shouted suddenly.

“What’s it?” Barbara asked.

“I know what we can get Diana! The thing she wants most in the world!”

Barbara frowned. “If we knew what that was, we’d have already come up with it.”

“Think about it. What is Diana always looking at?”

“...textbooks? The blackboards in class?”

“Alright, but what is she looking at when she _should_ be paying attention to what the teachers are doing.”

“Well, she is always keeping an eye an Akko. Seriously, that girl is so much trouble. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that she convinced Diana not to leave Luna Nova forever, but Diana shouldn’t feel obligated to give up her time with Akko’s flying practice, and private tutoring, and making sure she pays attention in class, and… oh...”

“Oh is right.”

“Wait!” Barbara exclaimed. “Akko!? Diana wants Akko!?”

“I mean, it’s kind of been obvious for a while now.”

“Since when?”

“Since Akko brought her back to school. Diana’s been sneaking glances at Akko when she thinks no one’s looking, but she’s not as subtle as she thinks she is.” Hannah thought of one of Akko’s flying practice sessions where Diana pretended to be reading a book, but never realized that she was in fact holding it upside down as she peered over the top of it.

“I never noticed that at all,” Barbara said, mystified.

“You never noticed I was looking at you either,” Hannah mumbled, saltier than the Dead Sea.

Barbara cringed. “You weren’t that obvious though, were you?” she ventured.

“Um, remember during the fairies’ strike? When we showered together?”

“Oh gods.”

“I was totally staring at your butt the whole time.” Hannah had nearly had a heart attack when Barbara suggested they shower together. She had been almost certain that Barbara would figure out her secret, but it turned out that Barbara was immune to expressions of romantic & sexual interest that didn’t resemble Nightfall-style melodrama.

“Hannah! Are you saying my butt looks good?”

“Cutest butt in Luna Nova.” Not that Hannah looked at other butts. Except for Akko’s butt, which had a way of drawing attention when her short skirt and clumsiness collided.

“Thanks, babe,” Barbara said with a smile. “Wait, what were we talking about?”

“Diana’s crush on Akko. We need to help her out. Then she can be as happy as we are.”

“That’s a great idea! But how can we help them get together?”

“I have an idea. Last week I read about a _very_ interesting spell. Let’s just say that our little lovebirds won’t be leaving each other’s side any time soon.”

*******

Akko woke up uncharacteristically early on the morning of April 30th. She even _stayed_ awake, bouncing out of bed at the sound of her alarm rather than telling herself the lie that she could rest her eyes for another five minutes without dozing off again. Today was special and she couldn’t afford to sleep in.

While Sucy and Lotte went through their morning routines at their usual pace, Akko went through hers at lightning speed, a blur of brown hair and white and blue fabric. When she was finished, she opened her drawer and pulled out a small box indelicately gift-wrapped with Shiny Chariot-themed paper. She attempted to leave unnoticed, but her friends spoke to her before she could sneak out.

“What are you up so early for?” Lotte asked. “You remember we already did our exams, right? Today is a day off.”

“Why’d you have to tell her that?” Sucy complained. “I wanted to see her make an ass of herself.”

“There’s, uh, something I have to do,” Akko evaded. “Important up-and-coming witch things.”

Lotte and Sucy shrugged. They figured that if it were worth hearing about, they’d probably hear about it later, most likely in the form of a teacher lecturing their roommate at full volume.

Akko exited the dorm room, glad her friends hadn’t asked her about the box she was holding. It was, of course, a present for Diana. There was going to be a tea party in Diana’s honour in the evening and all of Red Team had been invited—Green team had been denied an invitation after Amanda had accidentally lit one of Diana’s spellbooks on fire.

Everyone else was going to give their presents to Diana at the party, but Akko wanted to be the first. She wanted to thank Diana for everything she had done for her lately, and Akko had chosen something with a special significance between the two of them. Something they couldn’t share with anyone else. That was her only reason, she told herself for the hundredth time. It wasn’t that she wanted to be the only one to see Diana’s reaction to her present. There was no way whatsoever that her motivation was that she wanted to have Diana all to herself for a private moment. That would be absurd. Akko put a strip of mental duct tape over her subconscious’ mouth to silence its protests to the contrary.

Akko knocked on the door to Blue Team’s dorm room. Hannah and Barbara answered the door, smiling when they saw that their visitor was Akko.

“Akko! How lovely to see you,” Barbara said.

“How unusual to see you up so early. I wonder what’s gotten into you,” Hannah smiled slyly at her girlfriend.

“Um, hi,” Akko said hesitantly. She was hoping Diana’s roommates wouldn’t ruin her planned private moment with Diana.

“What’s that you’ve got behind your back?” Barbara asked.

“That’s obvious, Babs. Akko’s got a present for the birthday girl.”

Akko squeaked.

“Tell you what. We’ve got important girlfriend things to do elsewhere. I don’t suppose you could give Diana her present from us at the same time, could you?” Hannah didn’t wait for Akko’s response. She held out a small box and dropped into Akko’s hand.

“Thanks, Akko,” Barbara said as the girls passed. “Have fun.” The girls giggled in a conspiratorial way, quite unlike their usual malevolent cackles they directed at Akko.

Akko had no idea what she meant. She just hoped their present wouldn’t overshadow hers…

*******

“Good morning, Akko. It’s rather unusual to see you at this time of day.”

“Why does everybody keep saying that,” Akko huffed.

“Because it’s true. I never thought I’d see the day that you were up and about before I was. I’m flattered that you made such an effort just to wish me a happy birthday.”

Diana rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She sat on her bed, still in her nightgown, her bed head left unaddressed. Akko, sitting next to her, was mesmerized by the sight. A slightly disheveled Diana. Akko thought she looked cute. Of course, she thought that in a completely normal for friends to think of their friends way.

Akko blushed for no reason whatsoever. “What are friends for,” she said with forced laugh.

“I see you’ve brought me a present,” Diana said. “To think that only a year ago you cursed my name and declared me your rival.”

“People change,” Akko said defensively, handing Diana the present.

“Indeed.” Diana eyed the wrapping paper. “And sometimes they don’t.” She removed the paper with precision, not tearing it at all. She opened the box and gasped at its contents: a deck of Shiny Chariot cards, with assorted memorabilia.

“Akko, this is wonderful.”

Akko breathed a sigh of relief. “I was worried you might say you grew out of that kind of thing.”

“True, having met the real, flesh and blood Shiny Chariot has changed how I view such things. But this gift, from one Shiny Chariot fan to another, means so much more.” Diana gave Akko a smile. “Apart from Anna, you’re the person who knows about my childhood love for Chariot. This is a gift only you could have given me.”

Akko’s heart skipped a beat. “Um, you’re welcome, I guess.” Why was she so nervous. Diana loved her present, so why were her palms getting sweaty?

She needed something to distract herself, and to keep Diana from noticing how weird her body was being. “Hannah and Barbara asked me to bring you their present too.” She thrust the small box at Diana.

“You don’t suppose they meant me to open it without them?” Diana asked. Akko shrugged in response.

The box had an attached note that read “Open me first.” There was an envelope taped to the box’s side, which one would infer was to be read second.

“I should leave this until the party,” Diana said, as if trying to convince herself.

“It’s your birthday, so you can do whatever you want,” Akko reasoned.

“You may be right,” Diana agreed. She smirked. “I’m not usually so irreverent. You must be rubbing off on me, Akko.”

Akko preemptively dismissed all thoughts about herself rubbing off on Diana.

Diana opened the small box, which released a small poof of magic. Then something long and red shot out of the box and wrapped itself around Diana’s wrist.

“Diana!” Akko shouted in alarm, only for another long and red thing to coil around her wrist as well. Once both girls were captured, the things went slack and slipped out of the box, revealing the things to be only two ends of a single thing, a long red ribbon. Akko tried to pry it off, but the ribbon held fast. She even prodded it with her wand, but it didn’t budge.

“What is this thing? Why would Hannah and Barbara give you this weird ribbon thing? It’s like a boa constrictor.”

Diana didn’t answer. She opened the envelope taped to the box and looked at the letter inside. Her face grew progressively pinker the longer she read. Akko figured she must be really angry.

“What is it, Diana? What does it say?”

Diana cleared her throat. “Well, you see, Hannah and Barbara decided to pull a prank on me. That’s it, a prank. They thought, rather than giving me some trinket for my birthday, they would give me the, um, experience of something, um, unusual that would make for a memorable experience. Um, that is to say, they meant for us to be, um, bonded together by this magical ribbon.”

“What!? We’re stuck together?”

“It seems that is the case. My dear friends thought it might be amusing if we were, um, forced to be in each other’s company. Stuck together. Unable to leave the other’s side.” Diana cleared her throat again. Akko thought she must have something stuck in her throat. Her face was still pink too.

“They really said that? Can I see the letter?”

“No.” Diana shoved the letter under the pillow. “The letter… it was meant for me… and it’s rather improper to read someone else’s correspondence, don’t you think?”

Akko thought that was weird. What was wrong with her reading the letter. But she didn’t press the issue. This situation hardly needed to get more awkward.

“Can’t you do something about this? Or one of the teachers?”

Diana’s eyes widened. “Unfortunately it’s not that simple,” she said very quickly. “This is a Gleipnir ribbon, which is a very powerful enchantment, and as much as I suppose we might hypothetically, theoretically, maybe want to not be stuck to each other, this spell is very powerful, especially when first cast, so we won’t be dispel it until it has significantly weakened. Yes.”

Akko’s heart raced at the thought of being tied to Diana for days, weeks, months. There was no way she’d survive that. For completely normal friend reasons, you understand. “How long will that take.”

“Um, twenty-four hours at the least, I suppose.”

“Wow, that’s lucky. I thought you were going to say we’d be stuck together for a year or something. That would’ve been, uh, inconvenient.”

“Yes. Inconvenient.”

They stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to think about their current predicament. Akko couldn’t imagine how Diana felt. Pranked on her birthday? The nerve of those two. Akko would have to give them a piece of her mind later. Because she totally wasn’t secretly pleased at the idea of spending the next twenty-four hours with Diana. Nope, not at all. Not that she minded spending time with her friend. She loved spending time with her friends. But being around Diana lately made her feel all light-headed and floaty, leading to all sorts of accidents.

“Well, um, let’s make the most of this,” Akko said cheerily. “This might even be fun!”

Diana’s flush, which had almost disappeared, returned with a vengeance. “Perhaps,” she said quietly.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go get some breakfast!” Akko jumped up, the ribbon pulling Diana up with her. She tried to leave, but Diana yanked her back.

“Akko! I can’t go outside looking like this.” Diana was still in her nightgown.

“Oh, right. Wait, how are you going to change if we’re stuck together like this?” The ribbon would get in the way if she tried to take her clothes off, which was a subject Akko refused to have further thoughts about.

Diana rolled her eyes. “ _Metamorphie vestesse_.” The nightgown transformed into her school uniform.

“Oh, right,” Akko repeated. They left the dorm and walked side by side, hands almost touching.

*******

The morning passed largely without incident. At first, nobody noticed that Atsuko Kagari and Diana Cavendish were tied together. They got their food and sat down at a table with Hannah and Barbara.

“Enjoying your present, Diana?” Hannah snickered.

“Quite,” Diana said curtly. She took a sip of tea to avoid answering further.

“You two are almost as bad as Sucy,” Akko accused. “You should be nicer to Diana on her birthday.”

“We are being nice,” Barbara said. “We’re giving her a chance to spend more time with her new favourite friend. Han and I have been soooo jealous of you lately, getting to spend so much time with Diana. She just loooooooves giving you extra attention.”

“Wuh,” Akko almost choked on her toast. “No she doesn’t. It’s a totally normal amount of time for friends to hang out. Isn’t that right, Diana?”

Diana took another sip of tea.

“Are you saying you don’t want to hang out with Diana?” Hannah asked. “On her birthday?”

“Of course I want to hang out with Diana! Diana is super fun to hang out with! And she’s super helpful, and now that she’s being nice she might be my favourite person to hang out with.” Akko clapped her hands over her mouth. It wasn’t necessarily wrong. Lotte could be a little too quiet or a little too loud if books came up. Sucy was great except for when she tried to use Akko as a guinea pig, which was way too often. And Green Team was a little too chaotic when combined with Akko. But Diana was just right, a mitigating influence on her troublemaking self. Things just seemed to go right when Diana was around. But Akko didn’t want Diana to know that she thought that way. For normal friend reasons.

Akko looked to Diana to see her reaction. Diana took yet another sip of silence.

“Glad to hear it, Akko. We’re going to spend some time to ourselves, but we’ll see you at the party. Toodles.”

Akko and Diana spent the rest of the morning in the library. Studying. Akko objected, but Diana explained that they needed to fill in the gaps in her education. Though Akko passed the end of year exams, she should use all the time she had to try to get ahead, Diana reasoned.

“You did say that you’re my rival, didn’t you? How can you hope to catch up to me if you aren’t going to work for it?”

Diana was right as always. They sat side by side at a desk, huddled close together, Diana whispering advice into her ear in a way that was more distracting than helpful.

People started catching onto their situation as the day wore on. Their fellow students gave them odd looks, whispering behind their backs. Akko was used to that kind of treatment, but she was worried how Diana felt. She needn’t have worried; Diana gave no notice to the others. She was only paying attention to Akko. Even when the teachers showed up to offer assistance, Diana waved them off, explaining the twenty-four duration of their predicament.

Akko tried to imitate Diana’s attitude but that became impossible at flying practice once Amanda caught wind of it.

“Is that a bondage thing?” she asked brazenly.

Diana and Akko turned bright red. Akko stuttered an explanation of the situation, prompting a gale of laughter.

“Seriously? That’s hilarious.” Amanda wiped away a tear of joy. “Where’d you get the idea for that? Was it those _Fifty Shades of Gay_ books?”

“That’s not what they’re called and you know it!” Barbara yelled.

“Whatever. I can’t believe I got out-pranked by the snobs. I gotta step up my game. Are there any fuzzy handcuff spells I should learn?”

“It’s not a bondage thing!” Akko said.

“Never mind O’Neill,” Diana said. “There’s no point in flying practice if you don’t fly.”

“I know, but I’m having trouble focusing.”

Akko stood with the broom between her legs, ready to take off, the way she always did. Except this time Diana was sitting behind her with her arms hugging Akko’s waist. That little fact demanded all of her attention.

For normal friend reasons.

“Um, do you really need to hold on to me quite that tightly?”

“Yes. You have a habit of flying hazardously and I don’t want to fall off.”

“Um, good point.”

Akko tried her best to ignore the comforting pressure of Diana’s arms around her and focus on flying. It was difficult to fly with the added weight of another person, but Akko managed with softly whispered advice from Diana. Everything was going great until Amanda referred to the pair of them as “snuggling lovebirds” and Akko lost control, spinning in a circle until they were both thrown off. They landed in a heap on the ground.

Akko found herself nose to nose with Diana, their limbs a tangle, the ribbon making the whole situation impossible to sort out. The more Akko struggled to get free, the worse it seemed to get.

“I’m sorry!” Akko said compulsively.

“Don’t worry, Akko. It’s not your fault that you crashed.”

“I meant I’m sorry that we’re all tangled up together and…” Akko was very aware of how close her face was to Diana’s. “...and stuff.”

“Oh. Right.” Diana blushed. “Stay still for a moment.” Diana pulled out her wand and cast a levitation spell. They floated several feet off the ground, and once free of gravity it was much easier to untangle themselves.

Once liberated, Diana canceled the spell and they touched down on the ground. “Sorry, again,” Akko said, still very embarrassed at what happened, how close she had been to Diana…

Before Diana could say anything, Amanda butted in.

“Hey, I was watching that,” she said. “I really thought you two were going to do it right here in the yard, but I’m guessing you’re saving that for—”

Diana waved her wand and Akko’s discarded broom rose from the ground and swept Amanda’s feet out from under her, dropping her on her butt.

*******

“I’ve got to say, you two have really outdone me,” Sucy said to Hannah and Barbara. “The Rubberizing Potion was pretty great, but this bondage ribbon thing really takes the cake.”

Diana’s birthday party was well in progress. They ate cake, drank tea, and discussed the presents Diana had received. Lotte had given Diana a book on traditional Finnish witch traditions; Sucy’s present was a rejuvenation potion to restore energy after all-nighters spent studying. Akko’s present went unmentioned, which left Hannah and Barbara’s present the topic of discussion.

“We weren’t pranking them,” Barbara said. “This was a present. And Diana seems to be enjoying it.”

Diana smiled. “It’s been a wonderful learning experience. Akko and I have learned so much about teamwork, coordination, and proper communication.”

“I bet Akko’s enjoying it a lot too,” Sucy cackled.

Diana raised an eyebrow. “Whatever do you mean?”

“Akko must be over the moon, getting to spend so much time with her precious Diana. She doesn’t shut up about you. ‘Diana is so smart. Diana is perfect. Diana’s hair is so pretty.’”

“I never said that!’

“Pfft, you were probably thinking it.”

“You do talk about her a lot,” Lotte said diplomatically.

“I talk about Diana for totally normal friend reasons!” Akko said hastily. “It’s totally normal to talk about your friends!”

“Is it normal to sleep-talk about your friends?” Sucy asked. “I wonder what kind of dreams Akko’s been having.”

“NORMAL FRIEND DREAMS!”

Diana placed her elbows on the table—shaking everyone’s teacups—and steepled her fingers. “Tell me more about Akko’s sleep-talking.”

“Calm down, birthday girl, you’re gonna spill everyone’s tea.”

“No, you’re going to spill the tea.” Diana slid a fifty pound note across the table to Sucy.

“DIANA!”

“Kekeke. Pleasure doing business with you,” Sucy slipped the banknote into her robes. “At least once a week, Akko talks in her sleep, and lately one name keeps popping up. She used to talk about Shiny Chariot in her sleep, but now she talks about you in her sleep almost as much as she does when she’s awake.”

“Tell me more. What does sleeping Akko have to say about me?”

“It’s usually just your name. Over and over. I can only imagine one scenario where you’d just keep saying someone’s name over and over again.”

Lotte, Hannah, and Barbara almost spat out their tea.

“SUCY!”  
“Oh my. How intriguing. Does Akko have anything to add?”

Akko took a sip of her tea to avoid answering. It’s not like she was responsible for the things she dreamed about her friend. And she only dreamed about _that_ kind of thing once. A month.

*******

The party ended, and Lotte and Sucy returned to the Red Team dorm. “Try not to talk in your sleep,” Sucy said as she departed.

“Wait, where am I going to sleep?” Akko asked. How were they going to sort that out?

“I would’ve thought that was obvious,” Diana said. “You’re going to be sleeping in my bed.”

“Then where are you going to sleep?”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “I’m also going to be sleeping in my bed.”

“What!” Akko’s face was on fire. “Do we have to share a bed?”

“There aren’t any other options.”

“Why can’t Hannah and Barbara let us sleep in their beds? They’re right next to each other, so we can just hold our arms out between them. Those two can share your bed.”

“I couldn’t ask Hannah and Barbara to do that. Besides, that sounds uncomfortable.”

“Well, I can sleep on the floor next to your bed!”

“Akko, you don’t have to do that. Is there a reason you don’t want to share a bed with me?”

No reasons Akko had the courage to say aloud. “No,” she mumbled.

“In that case, we ought to get to bed. A good night’s sleep is essential for a witch seeking to do her best.”

Diana led Akko to her section of the door room. She changed her uniform back into her nightgown, then did the reverse for Akko, replicating Akko’s white t-shirt and red shorts.

Diana slipped into bed, gently pulling Akko along with her under the covers. Akko could hardly believe this was happening. She was actually getting into bed with Diana. Something which she may or may not have thought about happening in a variety of contexts. She was nervous as hell, but she’d have to make sure she didn’t do anything to miss this up. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Diana uncomfortable.

Akko’s thoughts were interrupted by Diana’s arm snaking around her pulling the two of them close, like a seatbelt locking her in place.

“D-Diana!”

“Mmmm, yes Akko?”

Akko tried to think of exactly she was objecting to. It was then that her subconscious ripped off the mental duct tape over its mouth and yelled “Diana Cavendish is spooning you! Just let this happen!” Akko found that she couldn’t disagree with that logic. Maybe, just maybe, she sort of kind of maybe wanted a little more from her friendship with Akko. For not quite normal friend reasons.

“Nothing,” Akko said. She placed her hand over Diana’s.

Diana didn’t say anything else. Instead, she nuzzled at Akko’s neck. Akko put her other hand over her heart to keep it from bursting out of her chest, xenomorph style. Alarming anatomical reactions aside, Akko found this situation quite nice. Diana’s body was soft and warm, her embrace made Akko feel like she was melting. She could almost swear their heartbeats and breathing were synchronizing. Akko was usually a restless sleeper, but tonight she was sedate, barely a twitch. Tension faded from her body, she had never felt more at home than she did in Diana’s arms.

Her last thought before drifting off to sleep was that she was thankful for Hannah and Barbara’s little prank.

*******

Akko awoke from the most pleasant dream. She dreamed that she had spent a whole night snuggling with Diana. If only it were real.

And then Akko realized that she was in Diana’s bed, with Diana’s arm around her.

“It was real!” Akko said out loud. Her memories of the previous day flooded back into her head all at once.

“What’s real?” Diana mumbled against her neck.

“Nothing,” Akko said. She was on cloud nine. She was snuggling with the prettiest girl in Luna Nova, and she was in no hurry for it to end. Okay, maybe she kind of had extremely obvious feelings for Diana that she would have to address at some point, but right now she’d treat herself to a little attention from her crush. She stretched her arms out, drawing them back in and putting them under the pillow—

—and touched something rough. She pulled out the offending object: the letter Hannah and Barbara had attached to their present. Akko knew Diana didn’t want her to read it, but she couldn’t help herself.

>   
>  _Happy Birthday, Diana. As I’m sure you discovered, we got you a Gleipnir ribbon for your birthday and enchanted it to bind you to whomever you are with at the time. If we planned right, that person will be Akko. Lucky you.  
>  We know that you can get rid of this thing in a second if you want to. We aren’t good enough witches to make this Diana-proof. So you should use this as an opportunity to sort out your little problem with Akko._  
> 

“What have you got there?” Diana asked, peering over Akko’s shoulder. “Oh. Oh dear.”

“What’s going on Diana?” Akko sat up and faced her friend. “You could’ve got rid of this thing at any time?” She pointed at the ribbon binding them together.

Diana couldn’t look her in the eyes. “Well, technically, yes I could have.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“...normal friend reasons?”

“What’s that mean? This letter says you have a problem with me.”

“Did you read past that part?”

“No, you interrupted me.”

Diana lunged for the letter. “Give it to me! Don’t look at it!”

“No way!” Akko held the letter out of Diana’s reach and read the rest of it.

>   
>  _You’ve been dancing around your feelings for Akko for ages. It’s totally obvious and I have no idea how Akko hasn’t figured it out by now. And don’t deny it. You were the one who told me to be honest with Barbara, so it’s a little too late to play the hypocrite. You’re always checking Akko out and making up excuses to spend time with her. So here’s an ironclad excuse to be around her. Let her think you can’t get rid of the Gleipnir ribbon for a whole day, and use that day to get her to realize how you feel._  
> 

Akko made a high-pitch noise that could only be heard by dogs and bats. Diana had feelings for her? That didn’t seem possible. But there was no other explanation. She had tricked Akko into spending the last twenty-four hours with her. She had clung to Akko at every opportunity. She had probed Sucy for information about Akko’s possible interest in her. For Jennifer’s sake, she even insisted they sleep in the same bed.

Diana used Akko’s brain overload to snatch the letter away. Akko recovered, grabbing Diana by the shoulders. “Diana, is it true? Do you have feelings for me?”

Diana bit her lip. “Isn’t that obvious?”

“Omigosh!” Akko threw her arms around Diana. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“I thought you only saw me as a friend.”

“Me too. It turns out I kind of have a huge crush on you, Diana.”

Akko could’ve sworn she heard a voice on the other side of the dorm room say “No shit.”

“I hope you can forgive me for my subterfuge,” Diana said apologetically. “I didn’t have the confidence to admit my feelings and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“All water under the bridge! But you are going to have to get us out of this thing eventually.”

“You’re absolutely right.” Diana got up to get her wand, but Akko yanked on the ribbon and pulled her back into bed.

“Just a bit longer,” Akko said gleefully. “You’ve helped me out with my studies so much, it’s only fair that I teach you about the joys of sleeping in.”

Diana giggled. “Very well,” she said as they settled back under the covers, this time cuddling face to face. “And perhaps you can tell me about the contents of those dreams you’ve been having about me.”

“Oh my, Akko. The look on your face. How promising."

**Author's Note:**

> My superego: We're going to write a fluffy fic that's cute but not lewd at all  
> My unrepressed id, about to inject lewd into my fic: Oh, you haven't heard?


End file.
